On Sunday, she was [not] ordained as a priest — a role for women that is anything but traditional in the Catholic Church.

Kusner’s [non-]ordination was made possible by the Roman Catholic Womenpriests organization, a group loyal to the church in its teachings and rituals but denounced by the church for its belief that women, too, can be priests.

Meehan, who actively keeps a blog on the movement, was one of the first eight women in the country to [not] be ordained as priests in 2006. Now, there are more than 100 female priests in the nation, she said.

Several people have made it clear that they are strongly against this movement. In a press release from Catholic Online, Bishop Martin Amos of the Diocese of Davenport was firm in his opposition.

“I declare that the Church has no authority whatsoever to confer priestly ordination on women and that this judgment is to be definitively held by all the Church’s faithful,” he wrote.

Kusner has battled against this belief for most of her life.

Before becoming a priest, Kusner acted as a palliative chaplain, offering end-of-life counseling and an open ear.

The only frustration she had was the fact that she could not continue to do her job once the patients needed sacraments. The Catholic Church required her to send for a priest, but Kusner noticed that her patients wanted to continue talking to her instead.

“I recognized that I was doing a role of a priest,” she said. “It took two years for me to recognize that this is my calling.”

Kusner says that the Vatican’s refusal to recognize the status of woman priests challenges her emotionally, but in the end, it’s her relationship to God that matters, not the Catholic Church’s.

“I think the system has become so invalid itself,” she said. “ Unfortunately, the love for power has overruled gospel values. I believe the spirit of [God’s covenant] needs to take precedence.”

Meehan feels the same way.

Emphasizing that the female priest movement is confronting injustice, Meehan said matters of faith, including the ordination of priests, should be inclusive.

“We’re like the Rosa Parks of the Catholic Church,” Meehan said. “We are leading the way and following Jesus who had both male and female disciples. All are special, and all are welcome.”

She also pointed out that women were [not] allowed to be ordained in the early history of the Catholic Church and said the modern Vatican policies are sexist.

Ordination has not been the only struggle for Kusner. Her parents have not supported her priesthood, either. She said she hopes they will eventually be able to “see things in a different light.”

Currently, the Roman Catholic Womenpriests are sharing their story in hopes of getting more women to follow in their footsteps.

“My faith is what grounds my life,” she said. “To know my truth is leading this, that’s very empowering.”

By Molly Rossiter

CORALVILLE - Mary Kay Kusner was a little shaken when she got the letter from Bishop Martin Amos of the Diocese of Davenport, withdrawing his support of her chaplaincy and excommunicating her from the Roman Catholic Church.

She was not, however, deterred.

Kusner, 50, of Iowa City, topped off a two-year spiritual journey Sunday afternoon when she was [not] ordained a Catholic priest by the Roman Catholic Womenpriests in front of nearly 300 people at First United Christian Church, 900 Lincolnshire Pl., in Coralville.

“It was Mother Church saying, ‘You’ve done something wrong and we no longer support you,’ and it was very strong,” Kusner said of her feelings on receiving the letter. “But it did not change my drive — that is something that has been very solid.”

Kusner at times was emotional during the service, particularly when she took her place at the altar next to Bishop Regina Nicolosi of Red Wing, Minn.

“This morning just felt surreal,” Kusner said. “This, to me, is the culmination of so much prayerful discernment, prayerful questions wondering whether I’m doing the right thing.”

The amount of public support at the ordination service — in which a Minnesota woman, Monique Gamache Venne, was also ordained a deacon — was “overwhelming.”

“I’ve gotten a lot of supportive e-mails and phone calls, but to see this many people come out is wonderful,” Kusner said.

Christine Grothe, 40, of Conesville, was one of those who attended the service to support Kusner.

Grothe said she and Kusner met when Grothe’s daughter Nora was stillborn nine years ago, and the two women forged a strong friendship. Watching her friend become ordained — and go through the process — has brought Grothe back to the church, she said.

“I was so disillusioned and so not interested before,” Grothe said. “I feel closer to God now because of Mary Kay.”

Kusner [didn't] became one of 11 ordained women in Roman Catholic Womenpriests’ Midwest region. The organization, founded in 2002, calls itself “a new model of ordained ministry in a renewed Roman Catholic Church,” although much of the Roman Catholic hierarchy does not recognize the organization as one representative of the church.

For the women in the movement, however, that’s something that will likely change with time.

“No one thought the Berlin Wall would fall. No one thought we’d see the end of apartheid,” said the Rev. Alice Iaquinta, an ordained Womanpriest and program coordinator for the Midwest region. “This time is coming.”

“It’s all coming together,” she said. “Will I see it in my lifetime? One can hope. The ‘church’ is the people of God — it is not the Roman hierarchy and the Vatican.”

“How many voices in our materialist society tell us that happiness is to be found by acquiring as many possessions and luxuries as we can? But this is to make possessions into a false god. Instead of bringing life, they bring death.”- Pope Benedict XVI

"This past Wednesday I was in part of the hospital that was devoted to people who have memory problems like my father. The people here may have no idea who I am but they light up at the sight of a collar. People who cannot carry on a conversation click “on” and join in prayer as if there were little wrong with them, their faces relaxing in this moment of peace amidst the chaos of illness."- Fr. Valencheck

"The priest's life is not his own. He does not live it for himself and his personal fulfillment, but for the salvation of souls."- Fr. Richtsteig

"I am convinced that if we simply follow the liturgical books, say the texts and carry out the gestures properly, in a style continuous with our tradition, the Church’s liturgy has power the capture minds and hearts and transform them.

I starting forming this conviction before I became a Catholic through my experience of Novus Ordo Masses done in an entirely Roman traditional style, closely following the books.

The late Msgr. Richard Schuler would eventually articulate to me in words what I was experiencing in the church. "Just do what the Council asked… do what the Church asks."

Why is worship well executed according to the mind of the Church so effective?

Christ is the true Actor in the sacred action of the Church’s worship. He makes our hands and voices His own as He raises our petitions and offerings to the Father for His glory and our salvation.

Christ’s Holy Church has determined the way by which we may have this encounter with mystery in the liturgy, be taken up in the sacred action.

Although we have the right to our Rite celebrated as the Church desires, liturgy is not about me or us or even you in the pews." - Fr. Zuhlsdorf

"After celebrating Mass facing the Lord I can report these favorable effects from the priest's point of view:

1. I don't have to worry about where to look
2. I don't have to worry about what my face looks like
3. I can weep at the beauty and wonder of it all without concern
4. I can worship more freely and fully
5. I feel more at one with the people of God
6. I am on a journey to God with the people
7. I am not the focus of attention
8. The elevation of the host and the Ecce Agnus Dei have become more of a focus
9. I feel more part of the great tradition
10. I can't see who's not paying attention and feel I have to do something to get their attention back." - Fr. Longenecker

"My rector in Denver, when he was a young priest, was eating dinner at his secretary's house, a widow from Sicily. Thinking he was polite he said, 'If you wish you can call me Michael.' She stopped, put her hand on her hip, and, pointing at him with her wooden spoon, said, 'Don't think I call you Father because I think you're better than me! I call you Father to remind you who you're supposed to be and how you're going to be judged by our Lord!' He passes that lesson on to all his seminarians."- Fr. Andrew

Decalogue Against Temptation

1. Do not forget that the devil exists.
2. Do not forget that the devil is a tempter.
3. Do not forget that the devil is very intelligent and astute.
4. Be vigilant concerning your eyes and heart. Be strong in spirit and virtue.
5. Believe firmly in the victory of Christ over the tempter.
6. Remember that Christ makes you a participant in His victory.
7. Listen carefully to the word of God.
8. Be humble and love mortification.
9. Pray without flagging.
10. Love the Lord your God and offer worship to Him only.